Sobriety News
MAY 2002

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Sobriety News is a publication of the Harrisburg Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is written, edited, and read by AA members, and those interested in the AA program of recovery from the disease of alcoholism, linking one alcoholic to another.

Our desperation to find relief from the bondage of alcoholism has led us to this program as a new "design for living". Many members utilize meetings, sponsorship, self examination, amends, prayer, meditation, AA literature, service to fellow alcoholics, and many other tools to maintain their recovery. This publication is intended as one more tool to live a life of recovery. Because each AA member has an individual way of working this program, divergent views to recovery, within the concept of the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, are welcome. An effort is made to print all viewpoints in this forum. Articles are not intended to be statements of AA policy, nor does publication of any article imply endorsement by AA or the Harrisburg Area Intergroup.

MAY Calendar of Events*

    

Looking Ahead

* Look for more information about these events in Sobriety News.
** See links page for flyer

To links and current events

Your Help for the Calendar of Events

A complete Calendar of Events depends on our active members contributing information about their coming events, participation of Intergroups in surrounding Districts, and our ability to gather information. We feel it is worth trying. Let us know what you think. Often, we miss opportunities within the fellowship because the message didn't get out. We all want to carry the message to other alcoholics. This will be one more way we can accomplish that.

OUR FACE IS CHANGING

We now have the capability to update Sobriety News during the course of the month, so events can be added to the Calendar. You may, therefore, find it helpful or informative to check back to the website periodically to see what has been added. Your group has access to a printed copy of Sobriety News through your Intergroup Rep. As changes are made to the Internet copy in http://www.aaharrisburg.org your group will have no way of knowing new information about upcoming events unless a group member with internet access brings the information to the group. This can be another option for service that members can perform to maintain sobriety through action.
    The HAI index page has various links which gradually will become more active. A link has been added to the Meeting Schedule so you can print out the schedule on a single sheet of 8 1/2X11 paper. This schedule is current with the latest information available. If you see an error, or information for your meeting has been changed, the schedule will be updated if you notify Sobriety News at asdungan@comcast.net or if you notify an Intergroup Officer or mail the info to HAI, Fellowship House, 1251 S. 19th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105. This current schedule can be duplicated for group purposes from this link at any time it is needed, and will be maintained in as current a state as possible to try to minimize the problems of accuracy encountered with the printed schedules of the past.
    Flyers for the HAI Spring Speaker Meeting, the Fellowship House Memorial Weekend Events, and a Flyer for the 5th Annual SOS Conference are available on the links and coming events page. Other flyers will be added as they become available and removed when an event passes. If you are looking at this on the Internet, you will see that many of the insert pictures are links you can click on to get added information or flyers. Keep checking.
    The above suggested service opportunity to bring internet information back to the group could also be broadened to include flyers, and current meeting schedules. The printed schedules and flyers will still be available but may continue to have their current disadvantages too.

 


 SOBRIETY IS A JOURNEY OF JOYFUL DISCOVERY

40th Street Anniversary Celebration

It wasn't the Ziti or the salad, or fruit cup, or the copious desserts that made this a memorable Friday evening; it was the message delivered by the hearty hospitality, the warm fellowship, and the three speakers. It was a message that the AA program works for those who work at it. Jim D kicked things off with a brief lesson in local AA history and how the 40th Street Group got started 15 years ago this April. He told how the group got its name, because of the many entrances to this large church, since there was a 40th Street sign near the entrance door to the meeting room. If we don't remember our history, we are bound to repeat it. Harold R followed with the story of how as a youngster he wanted to be slick like their next door neighbor, and how years later, sitting in his dump of an apartment with a pint of liquor, cigarettes, and his feet propped up on a broken coffee table, he said, "God, it doesn't get any better than this". At that moment he realized that it would never get any better. It wasn't until a couple of years later when he actually tried to get sober and someone told him, if he took the "L" out of slick, everything would be OK. He did and it is. Jan D wrapped things up with her story of periodically feeling apart from, instead of a part of AA, but she kept coming back. She found the problem wasn't AA, it was her. She told the delightful story of how she taped her first chip to the refrigerator door to remind her not to drink what was inside. Her 8 year old son later taped a butterfly to the same door. She asked him why he did that, and he replied that it was what she had become since she stopped drinking. Thank you 40th Street for carrying the message.

ANOTHER SHOT OF ENTHUSIASM

The folks down in Middletown hosted another Shot of Enthusiasm on Saturday April 6th. The speakers, Keith W from the No More Tears Group in West Chester, and Liz B from the Sunrise Group of Jones Beach, New York, wowed a large crowd, sucking up Saturday afternoon fellowship. Of course there were the usual Internationally famous (or at least locally known) Middletown desserts. Keith started the enthusiasm rolling with his story of desperate self-will and how he eventually had "the light go on' in his head as he developed a love for the AA program. He shared much of what he has found in his home group and service. He imparted many truths, like: There are only two kinds of days for members of Alcoholics Anonymous, "A Good Day" and "A Great Day". A good day is when everything goes your way and you stay sober. A great day is when nothing goes your way and you stay sober.
    Liz B gave a truly inspiring talk, full of recovery suggestions and experiences. Her doctor told her she had cancer and gave her six months to live. She said, 'No, I'm in a recovery program that teaches me how to live one day at a time.' That was thirty-five years ago; the doctor is long dead, she's not. She said there is a Higher Power over these rooms of AA and if you have faith in that, you will be given the grace of God. She's survived 9 major operations, a stroke, a heart attack, having her neck slit from ear to ear, and 39 years of flying around the world to try and give this message. Her sobriety date is July 11, 1952, and if you don't believe what you hear, believe what you see. What a delightful vibrant personality she is.

The York Acts of Recovery

Several dozen local members made the trip to York, to the jam-packed Eastminster Presbyterian Church, for a free mini-conference on Saturday April 20. Four speakers shared their stories, with a slant towards four of the chapters of the Big Book where our AA program of recovery is specifically set down. There was no discussion of alternative avenues to recovery because none of the speakers had knowledge of any other effective method of dealing with their disease. Several did mention their experience with "So_dri_ety", attained by practicing a program of their own design, which they found less desirable than being drunk. They each had stories of how bad it got, but for this report, let's just accept they have their bona-fides!
    April D, from the Wrath of Grapes Group in Glen Burnie, MD, started things off with "There is a Solution". At the beginning of her drinking career, April found that alcohol could transform her shy personality into anything she wanted to be. It simply took away her fear. But as her disease progressed, she become filled with those all too familiar feelings of shame, guilt and remorse over what she had done and what she had become. On the outside, she was always “managing just fine.” On the inside she was increasingly bitter, lonely and full of despair. When she reached the point where she didn’t think she could face another day, she came to AA which held out the promise that there was a solution to her drinking problem…. and for the first time in her life, she felt hope. Through service, prayer and working the steps, today she no longer walks under a cloud of doom and experiences God’s love.

    Keith W from The 40 West Group of Baltimore had the unenviable task of following her, but delivered the goods admirably with his understanding of "We Agnostics". Keith thought that he wasn't suicidal, he just didn't care if he lived or died. He was told that that's what being suicidal is, he was just too disorganized to have formed a plan. He had continued going to the places where people died, and doing the things where people kill themselves. In desperation he embraced the program of AA, doing what he was told. Eventually he told his sponsor that he didn't think he needed to go to 7 to 10 meetings a week anymore. His sponsor's reply was that if he still thought this program was about him, then they had missed something. It was then that he realized this is all about being of service to others, and that's why it is called a spiritual program.
    Valerie D from The Jaywalkers Group in Richmond, VA followed a light lunch break with her example of "Into Action". (You may remember her from last year's 12th birthday of More to Life in New Cumberland.) Valerie spoke of the need to take our recovery program seriously because each of our lives depends on it. She spent parts of her youth in and out of AA, then spent periods of recovery “stark raving sober.” Finally, having some sobriety under her belt, she found herself in the precarious position of resting uncomfortably on her own laurels. She then realized - through desperation - that it is only in the action of working the steps that progress and change will occur. And in the process, she came to realize that none of us can fix ourselves - that only God’s grace can do that…and that what each of us needs to do is be present to receive it.
    Steve F from Baltimore's Harbor City Group wrapped the afternoon up with "Working With Others". Steve went to Anything Goes AA for years, dumping his woes at its meetings, attending picnics, 13th step dances, river rafting, etc; but things didn't seem to be getting any better. He heard a fellow share about the 12 Steps, and he asked him to tell him more. The guy told him he thought they would work for him, and though he'd lost his car, house, wife, and job, he finally got something better; he got hope. He found that if he showed up on time and followed directions, he could experience the grace of this program. By trying to the best of his ability to be of maximum service to others consistently, though never perfectly, as precisely explained in this chapter, he can feel joy in his heart. If you wouldn't accept a watered down drink, why would you accept watered down AA?
    Thanks to Elaine S for her perspective on the female speakers.

Congratulations More to Life

The There's More to Life Group at 16th and Bridge Street, New Cumberland, celebrated their 13th anniversary on Friday, April12. The capacity crowd enjoyed good fellowship and delicious finger foods until about 6:30, when the program started with the usual but important readings. The District 36 Committee Member, Jane L, presented the group with a congratulatory certificate for 13 years of carrying the message. There was a Sobriety count "up" that certainly demonstrated this program works. The speaker from Bryn Athyn, PA, Allyn S, told her story in the message "Stepping To Freedom". As she recounted what it was like, her story was familiar to any who have blamed the outside and others for their alcoholic drinking… and looked to the outside for solutions.  For Allyn, that meant finding a husband and having children, hoping that those actions would bring order and sanity to her life.  But her disease had other ideas and her life continued to become more and more unmanageable and more and more insane.   As a psychiatric nurse, when she came to AA in 1980, she did so under the guise of bringing a patient to a meeting because she was too ashamed to admit she had a problem.  To her surprise, what she found was a new life and unconditional love.  Through the years, by working the steps and doing service work, she has found that she has to do right in order to feel right.  She also shared that she has discovered that continued surrender - through working the steps - is an essential part of the ego deflation necessary for successful long term recovery and successful living.
Thanks to Elaine S. for reporting on this event

                             
Pearl of the month  contributed by Jim M.  c: Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Page 45


   We AA's had tried out a radical and old-time formula, one rather out of fashion nowadays, and it worked. "We admitted that we were powerless --that our lives had become unmanageable" and "we made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to God as we understood Him." Every one of us who could make and fairly well maintain this humbling admission and sweeping decision had found relief from obsession and had begun to grow into a totally and wonderfully different mental, physical, and spiritual existence.


When a person tries to control their drinking
They have already lost control.
When a person asks if they are an alcoholic
They already have their answer.

Traditions Checklist*

TRADITION FIVE: Each group has but one primary purpose -- to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

  1. Do I ever cop out by saying, "I'm not a group, so this or that Tradition doesn't apply to me"?
  2. Am I willing to explain firmly to a newcomer the limitations of AA help, even if he gets mad at me for not giving him a loan?
  3. Have I today imposed on any AA member for a special favor or consideration simply because I am a fellow alcoholic?
  4. Am I willing to twelfth-step the next newcomer without regard to who or what is in it for me?
  5. Do I help my group in every way I can to fulfill our primary purpose?
  6. Do I remember that AA old-timers, too, can be alcoholics who still suffer? Do I try both to help them and to learn from them?
     

HAI SPRING SPEAKER MEETING & PIG ROAST

Don't forget the Spring Speaker Meeting and Pig Roast Saturday May 18. This event will be jointly sponsored by the Harrisburg Area Intergroup and the Lykens Winding It Up Group. There will be fellowship starting at 12:00N, and the speakers will start at one o'clock. The local speaker will be Bud W who has 26 years of sobriety, and the visiting speaker comes from Philadelphia, Bobby C, who is no stranger, having spoken at PENNSCYPAA 12 and at SOS 4. Dessert donations will be appreciated. The location for this event will be the St James Church. From Harrisburg, take Rt 322 West to Rt 147 North (2nd Halifax Exit). Turn left at the light. Turn right after 1/8 mile at Community Bank onto Powells Valley Road. Go approximately 8 miles to the Carsonville Hotel and turn left. The church is about 1/8 mile. Park on the right. Hope to see you there.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT FELLOWSHIP HOUSE

There will be a Memorial Weekend Program at Fellowship House, starting Sunday, May 26, at 8:00AM with Welcoming, Alanon, and Fellowship House remarks, and Speaker Bob P from Lebanon. There will be coffee breaks, lunch, meetings, and two other speakers, Tina H from the Joy of Living Group at 11:30AM, and Al B at 4:00PM (with 42 years of sobriety) coming from North Carolina. Adjournment and cleanup will be at 5:00PM. Monday, May 27, will begin at 7:00AM with the Attitude Adjustment meeting. There will be a Memorial service at the "Memorial Tree" at 1:00PM and then a Chicken Barbeque (adults $4.00 and children $2.00) at 2:00PM. The balance of the day will be regularly scheduled meetings. See the flyer and schedule on the links page, make a copy and take it to your group.

S. B. Is Sadly Missed

Several months ago the passing of S. B. was sadly noted. We can see in these pages the empty spaces he might have filled with accounts of the happenings at the Concordia Group Celebration, or the Spring Fling Dinner Dance, or who knows what he might have let us all know about? There are certainly consequences to others not stepping up to fill the service that used to be performed by Some Body Else.
    Let the AA community know what's going on in your group, express your opinion on any AA topic you want to share about, or contribute material you find helpful or meaningful in your recovery. You can inform the editor and get your information out by sending your material to Sobriety News, Harrisburg Area Intergroup, 1251 S 19th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17111, or Email me at (asdungan@comcast.net)

MORE STUFF TO DO

Don't forget the Harrisburg Area Intergroup meeting Thursday the 2nd at 6:45PM. The District 36 General Service Rep meeting will be on Monday May13th at 6:30PM; all GSRs or alternates should be there. Interested visitors are welcome, but may not participate in Intergroup or General Service business. Witnessing what goes on there is one way to help decide if you'd like to participate in this type of service work.

Click Here!!The 5th Annual Sunlight of the Spirit Conference at the York Holiday Inn will be here before you know it. Avoid the disappointment of finding it's already filled and register now. You can get the registration form from the link page, or by clicking on the picture.
     The speakers signed up so far are: Ted B (LaMarque, TX), Karen G (Venice, CA), Dennis N (Charlotte, NC), Dave D (Alexandria, VA), Don M (Louisville, KY), and Liz B (Hollis NY). This Conference is always an excellent enthusiasm stimulator.
     If you don't have internet access, you can call Bill or Linda M at (717)741-9021, or there is still time to write to SOS Conference, PO Box 3538, York, PA, for a registration form.

The first annual Firecracker Round Up will be held at the Renaissance, Philadelphia Hotel Airport on the weekend - July 4 -7th. The marvelous list of speakers are Dennis N, Pat Y, Vince Y, Billy N, Clancy I, Tom F, and Lebra N. There will be a Saturday night Banquet and Dances Friday and Saturday, and Marathon Meetings through the weekend. More information and the registration form are available on the links page.

Keep in mind that PENNSCYPAA XIV will be held this year July 26-28th in Pittsburgh at the Ramada Plaza Suites & Conference Center at One Bigelow Square, Pittsburgh (In the Heart of Downtown). The handle for the conference will be ROCKETED INTO A 4th DIMENSION. This conference is always enjoyable for those who are able to not take themselves too seriously. Tickets will be $12 until June 28, and rooms run from $90 per night. The flyer and registration form are available on the links page, you can click on the logo at the left, and print at 135%. New and lasting friendships have been formed at previous PENNSCYPAAs and the speakers and workshops have always been stimulating. If more information becomes available it will be shared in the future.

The Intergroup Bookstore at 19th Street is still open Saturdays from 10:00AM till 11:00 AM for Groups to restock their literature cabinets with books and pamphlets.

Sometimes our pocketbooks, prudence and choice affect our opportunities in recovery. How do we know we want to spend significant money on something new? With this in mind, a spiritual retreat for men and women has been set up for June 1, at the Precious Blood Spiritual Center, 3950 Columbia Ave, Columbia, PA. The "Courage to Change Retreat" will cost $20 (including lunch and snacks). This retreat will be on Saturday from 9:30AM till 4:00PM. More information and registration forms should be available soon. Does this spark your curiosity?

The 9th Annual Pennsylvania State AA Convention, "Release from care, boredom, and worry" will be held August 2-4. At the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center in Carlisle there will be alcothons, speaker meetings, discussion meetings, AA entertainment, banquet, dance, indoor pool, etc. They plan a scenic motorcycle ride, golf, and midnight bowling for those who want to participate. Registration is $15 (banquet, buffet breakfast and other activities extra). Click on the logo at left for the hotel and conference registration forms. Sounds like fun.

*Many of the above have Flyers on the http://www.aaharrisburg.org/links.htm page. Some of these provide additional information. If you wish to print copies of the flyers, be aware that to reduce the enormous file size of scanned flyers for transmission on the internet, the physical size rather than resolution has been reduced. Therefore, to print you should adjust the print size of the document using whatever program your system uses to view these files (not the printer icon on your toolbar). It may take 30 seconds or so to download, so be patient.

The dance at Fellowship House on 19th Street is held on the third Saturday each month, starting at 8:30PM. It costs only $3.00 for adults, and please, no children under age eleven. Isolation is not a good alternative to enjoying the fellowship of dance. Come and have a good time.

FAITH = Finding Answers In The Heart

May Speakers

The Friday 8:30PM speaker meetings for the 19th Street Group for May 3, Ron H from Up the Creek; May 10, Ty from Up the Creek;  May 17, Mike K from Carlisle; May 24, Randy M from Trinity; and May 31 is Anniversary Night. The Sunday 8PM Bridge Street speakers are: May 5, Bekki M from Out of the Dark; May 12, Dave M from Rule 62; May 19, Bobby M from Carlisle; May 26, Harry P from the Fairview Group, and June 2, John S from the Trinity Group. The Fellowship House Memorial Sunday May 26 speakers are: 8:00AM, Bob P from Lebanon; 11:30AM, Tina H from the Joy of Living Group; and 4:00PM, Al B from North Carolina. The May 6 speaker at Hershey will be Jim S from the There's More To Life Group, and June 1 will be Dennis H from Carlisle. The Middletown Survivors speakers for May 18 and May 25 will be Barbara B and Fred S.

Only those who see the invisible

Can accomplish the impossible

Groups Continue Supporting Intergroup

For the month of April, contributions from six groups totaled $436. We would like to thank the following groups for their contributions to the Harrisburg Area Intergroup Fund. They were 19th Street, 40th Street, West Shore Women's, Women's Serenity, Trudgers & Survivors, and Living Sober Groups. We would also like to thank all the groups and members who continue to donate time toward Intergroup's activities. These activities include speaker meetings, picnics, men and women's prison meetings, Internet Website, meeting schedules, literature, the AA Hotline, and the many other vital AA functions that help alcoholics recover in our community. Intergroup performs those services for our community which no single group is prepared to handle, and it coordinates activities between the 56 groups it serves. Remember that we can do together what none of us could do alone.

April Intergroup Meeting

At the April Intergroup meeting, Cathy S reported that everything is moving smoothly in preparation for the May 18 speaker meeting but asked and it was approved that Intergroup would contribute $50 to supplement the soda supplied by the Lykens Group. A member of Alanon attended the meeting at the Chairperson's invitation so that we may explore ways in which the two organizations can enhance cooperation. The community prisons need volunteers in Dauphin County. Moses B is the coordinator, call him at 238-3924 to help out. The State Hospital meetings are covered until June; the West Shore Group served for April, There's More to Life volunteered for May, and 40th Street will visit during June. The 40th Street Group took the Cell phone during March and again for April, the Middletown Groups have taken the cell phone for May, and the 19th Street Group has volunteered for June. Jim D reported that Big Book sales are still going strong. Jim M, who returned briefly, will return to Botswana April 24 to spread the message in that country with the world's highest per capita alcoholism rate. Members attending had the privilege of hearing Jim share briefly about the dynamics of this problem and report on some encouraging help he is receiving. The group voted to continue to help in any way possible. Groups represented at the April meeting were 19th Street, 40th Street, Ain't You Had Enough, Bridge Street, Carlisle Area, Desire, Dillsburg, Fellowship House, Hershey, Millersburg, Rule 62, Survivors, There's More to Life, Up the Creek, West Shore, and Women's Serenity Groups.

Service to another Alcoholic
We can only stay sober ourselves by reaching out to another alcoholic. We can do that by getting our home group to volunteer for a particular 2 hour period each week, allowing group members a brief opportunity to answer the central office hotline. This will also provide the cell phone operator a two hour break which allows planning those things like going out in public where it is quite inconvenient to answer the phone (to say nothing of damaging to anonymity).
    You can help assure that help is available for the suffering alcoholic, alcoholics needing meeting schedule information, literature, or other assistance by volunteering to operate the central office hotline, or by getting your group to take the cell phone for a month. Why not give Tina H a call at home (238-3545), or Email (spicee308@aol.com), or you can volunteer through your Intergroup Rep. Central Office needs phone volunteers to handle the phone during the day to help reduce the burden on the cell phone volunteer. This is rewarding service work, and Central Office hours are pretty flexible.

SOBRIETY NEWS is published monthly, and is available on the website the Tuesday night before the first Thursday of each month. You can locate this newsletter, as well as lots of other stuff that would interest members of groups belonging to the Harrisburg Area Intergroup, at http://www.aaharrisburg.org